Search results (tags) for: "money"

$700 Billion Bail Out Cramping Your Style?

2008-10-04T20:04:00Z

Many folks are shuddering at the thought of gifting in the upcoming holidays and wondering how to manage. And while some families and friends are deciding to go without exchanging gifts, we here at Etsy want to urge those who will be shopping to consider supporting independent artists and crafters this holiday season. Then you can be sure that your shopping money will go to real people and rather than through the mass-production retail system, which (not to be too preachy) often involves sweatshop labor.

Everyone likes a good bargain, and buying handmade has the added value of really making a difference for a seller. Etsy admin Mary has just posted a Weekend Deals selection. You can find affordable options in our "Everyday" Gift Guide, get a custom item made to your specifications through Alchemy, or hey, learn how to make something yourself! In which case, you should join in to our Virtual Labs Monday Crafts Nights or see the How-to section of the Storque!

Etsy in the Press: Creative Ventures

2008-06-26T15:12:00Z

June has been buzzing with talk of crafty entrepreneurship. Where to begin? How about Sydney Stoyan's heart warming tale of her Etsy experience in the National Post? It is our favorite kind of story: buyer needs necklace, buyer finds Etsy, buyer meets seller, they start a friendship. Buyer goes on to form relationships with other sellers, and discovers the pleasure of the relationships and meaning that come from buying handmade. Describing her new found joy, she concludes by saying, "You simply cannot buy this kind of thing from Louis Vuitton."

The Wall Street Journal published a piece recently describing how online selling has opened new doors for artists who want to make a living from their passions. In a similar vein, Etsy features prominently in a cover story in the May issue of Entrepreneur's StartUps magazine. The article gives some good advice on pricing and marketing your creations online, as well as tips for real-world displays. It also provides insight on the relationship between art and commerce. The Boston Business Journal just ran a thoughtful story about the rise of Upcycling, a favorite practice of mine. The current issue of Crochet Today magazine has a great introductory piece about Etsy as well, featuring interviews with Matt and a few Etsy sellers. Express, an offshoot of the Washington Post, also ran a story detailing the challenges facing upstart handmade businesses. Steve Berger, CEO of the Craft & Hobby Association, was on ABC's Money Matters, talking about the recent boom in crafting (Americans spend $32 billion on craft supplies annually!). He spoke about what crafts are popular these days, and how the internet (and Etsy in particular) has influenced the recent growth and changed the crafting culture.

On the buyers' side of things, Etsy fan, Rob Walker, was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle, talking about his new book, Buying In (in which Etsy is mentioned). In the interview, he tells a short but amusing tale about a tie that he recently purchased on Etsy. Finally, the cultural media site artinfo.com recommends Etsy as a great place to begin collecting affordable art.

That's all for now, friends. Happy reading!

Handmade Weddings: The Sales Results, Happily Ever After

2008-04-15T15:00:00Z

We chose handmade weddings as a month-long series for a lot of reasons: There are tons of different aspects of a wedding that can be handmade, the styles are almost infinite, and there are tons of fabulous wedding items on Etsy. That's all great, but we also wanted to see whether or not an in-depth series would be useful for buyers and sellers. Well, the results are in for the wedding series and I must say, we’re suitably impressed: We ran the series for four weeks and business in the wedding category grew 57% vs. the previous four weeks!

A huge thank you goes out to Etsy sellers who decided to give the Weddings Category a shot, as well as the sellers who contributed their stories and expertise, including littlethings1, MagicIsland, solidio, ruralabandon, fubabee, beadifulthings, shoofly, citydirt, sewphisticate, mosey, LadybugSF, PetereneDesign, hobocampcrafts, LoucheLab, maryink, esdesigns, liskidder, gurlygirl, pistachiopress, vintagethisretrothat, RaeGun, creationsbylonni, moontreepress, KisforCalligraphy, Thomasina, confections, onesmallstar, pinklilypress, skyfiregraphics.

We also owe a big thanks to our guest bloggers who drove so much new traffic to the Storque and people's shops (you can find a list of them here).

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the series and we’ll work on more ways to spread the word about buying handmade!

Check out our new Featured Column, Earth Tones, all eco-friendly stuff in honor of Earth Day.

Can't Post New Listings? Overdue Etsy Bill

2008-01-15T15:31:00Z

At 7pm EST tonight (Midnight UTC), some Etsy sellers may have a confused look on their faces. If you have overdue bills — as described in this post — you will not be able to list new items until you pay. We know there are many of you out there! You haven't been reading the announcements!

Or, perhaps you don't have the cash. The average overdue bill is a measly eight dollars. Thus...

Eight ways to make $8. There's so much free money out there!

Take your old books to resell at a bookstore; old clothes to the consignment shop; sell DVDs and CDs you no longer use.
Recycle your cans.
Have a bake sale.
Empty out your old bags and wallets and search in coat pockets and under couch pillows.
Sell your hair.
Check the gigs section of Craiglist.
Give blood.
Take your guitar/flute/kazoo to the park to make a little extra cash.

Have any questions about your bill? Email billing@etsy.com to figure it out.

Last-minute Gifts or Ways to Entertain Younger Relatives

2007-12-24T11:13:00Z

Remember when Great Uncle Al used to amaze you when you were little by pulling a quarter out of his ear? The time has come. Now it's your turn to do small miraculous things with legal tender!

Enjoy this video, courtesy of abitabite. These make great last minute stocking stuffers or Christmas tree ornaments. Plus, you never know when making origami items out of dollar bills may come in handy when you're snowed in for two days with 15 screaming little cousins...

Etsy in the Press: Behind the Money with Rokali

2007-11-09T18:34:00Z

"I have mixed feeling about pretty much everything in life." — Robert Kalin.

Rob was interviewed by Behind the Money about cash flow matters and Etsy. Get the inside scoop on investors, not-selling-out, and the passion that drives Etsy founders.

Plus, Rob's wardrobe is courtesy of RuffeoheartslilSnoty, who were at the Etsy Labs for the Majestica artist-in-residency, the artist collective with MixenDixon and EmpireEmpire.

The Well-Informed Consumer: Shams Revealed!

2007-09-26T07:03:00Z

Hey there rubes!

As you may or may not know, there are a lotta tricksters out there looking to separate the fool (that's you) from his money. Well, I'm here to make sure they don't succeed! I'm gonna offer up some advice on how you can better spot and avoid frauds, scams and various forms of flim-flammery online.

Today we're going to talk about the Ol' Money Order/Cashier's Check Hornswaggle. Here's the rundown: Basically an "interested party" will contact you with an offer to buy one of your items. Their interest will often be vague. ( i.e "I am interested in purchasing your STERLING SILVER JEWELRY.") They will usually inquire about whether you will ship overseas and if you accept cashier's checks or money orders. Often they will offer to pay you much more than is necessary to ship express or as fast as possible. Many times they will have other weird requests and instructions like telling you that their money order will have an additional amount added on, and when you deposit it, to withdraw the difference to send back to them. If you get any type of offer like this, beware! These knuckleheads aren't interested in your sterling silver jewelry: just free merchandise and stolen money!

Correspondence like this is almost always a scam! They'll offer you more money to take you off guard and get the item out of your hands as fast as possible. Any money order or check you get from these goof-balls will be a fraud. It will go into your bank, but once it doesn't clear and the jig is up, your bank will hold YOU accountable and these jokers will be long gone.

If you get a message like this, report it to the authorities! (Or at least abuse@etsy.com.) Then we can give these clowns the boot and keep our virtual streets safe for us good, honest citizens!